A Quebec man has been found guilty of attempting to leave the country to participate in activities of a terrorist group.
Quebec court Judge Serge Delisle handed down the ruling today and said Ismael Habib lacked credibility.
The relatively new charge was introduced in the Criminal Code in 2013 and carries a maximum 10-year sentence.
The Crown had accused Habib of attempting to leave Canada with a plan to join Islamic State in Syria.
The case presented by prosecutors demonstrated that Habib told undercover RCMP officers twice during an elaborate sting operation in 2016 he wanted to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State.
Habib’s lawyer argued that authorities coerced a confession out of his client, who was desperately trying to reunite with his wife and children somewhere in the Middle East.
Habib had already been found guilty in May of the other charge he was facing in the indictment: giving false information to obtain a passport.
He was arrested and charged by the RCMP in February 2016.
